Ferguson's men triumph by a one-way street

Victimisation can be glamorous. Manchester United preyed on Newcastle, using every trick, pass and shot to cleanse themselves of the blandness that has so inexplicably crept into their system this season. Even though the rains fell, Sir Alex Ferguson's players basked in a performance that leads on to an FA Cup final against Arsenal on May 21.

United had tuned themselves up, with Ruud van Nistelrooy back in key so that he scored his first goals since November 27. The sole suspense associated with this tie lay in the vigil to discover whether he would be the first person to claim an FA Cup semi-final hat-trick since 1958. The Dutchman did not quite make it but that was the only restriction imposed by Newcastle.

It would be exhausting to chart all their failings but the expanse of the team that separated the busy goalkeeper Shay Given from the purposeful attacking partnership of Alan Shearer and Shola Ameobi was a wasteland. The sapping effects of Thursday's Uefa Cup loss to Sporting Lisbon in Portugal do not begin to constitute an excuse.

Jean-Alain Boumsong, who had been ineligible for that match, lacked all resilience. It was agonising, too, to see Nicky Butt, who has carved a handsome career out of his steadiness, so haphazard that he initiated the third goal for United by squirting a pass straight to Wayne Rooney. He could not even even plead fatigue in mitigation, having spent Thursday evening at ease on the substitutes' bench.

The only hope Newcastle have of being spared denunciations for yesterday's efforts will rest on the public's preference for dwelling on United's stylishness. It is dumbfounding that a squad capable of so much has been largely incapable of making its skills register this season.

Though suspensions and injuries ruled out five members of the Newcastle squad, there still has to be regard for the flair of United. Souness must have supposed that he was sending out a hardy side when he put both Amdy Faye and Butt at the core of the midfield but United recognised no barriers.

Overcoming the disgrace of a booking for a dive in the fifth minute as he attempted to fool the referee Mike Riley into awarding a penalty, Cristiano Ronaldo brought back memories of his effervescent performance when he was last in Cardiff for last year's FA Cup final win over Millwall. Roy Keane provided a scathing contrast to Newcastle's midfield bumbling and Rooney's mixture of dynamism and flair had opponents quaking.

Admittedly, it did not take much to make Newcastle tremble and any prospect Laurent Robert has for rehabilitation under Souness was diminished with each dire delivery he hit. United's opponents flagged up their vulnerabilities all afternoon, with the left of their back four perpetually vulnerable.

After 19 minutes, Van Nistelrooy sweetly worked the ball out to that flank and Ronaldo danced past Celestine Babayaro before cutting the ball back. Boumsong slipped and Steven Taylor was not close enough to distract Van Nistelrooy, who had eased into space, from sending an excellent finish slithering into the left corner of the net.

On the verge of the interval, Ronaldo crossed once more and, with Boumsong sluggish, Paul Scholes snapped up a trademark goal with a glancing header that flashed across Shay Given. The United midfielder was yet another figure who rejoiced in the restorative power of this unequal contest.

In the 58th minute Butt shanked the ball to Rooney and the teenager went on a thrusting counter-attack with Scholes, who slipped the ball through to Van Nistelrooy after Newcastle proved unable to clear. The striker, his self- belief renewed, stroked his shot into the corner of the net.

Within a minute, the dogged and admirable Shearer had eased a pass inside Gabriel Heinze and Ameobi got the better of Tim Howard from an acute angle. The Newcastle support, passionate and stubborn, were heartened and, as always, you had to wonder if the club might not achieve more if those people were less patient and forgiving of a series of underachieving sides.

The last piece of punishment to be soaked up was launched at them in the 76th minute. Gary Neville, at liberty to attack on the right whenever he was minded to take some exercise, picked out Van Nistelrooy, who laid off possession so that Ronaldo could wheel and place a finish into the net.

After the defeat at Norwich that was so traumatic as to make Ferguson temporarily break off communication with the outside world, United made the most of this opportunity to re-establish themselves.

As with Arsenal's win over Blackburn, the value of the result is rendered hard to assess by the inadequacies of the opposition. It is far-fetched to believe that the FA Cup, by itself, can redeem a disappointing season for the two contenders but another encounter between them is bound to be invigorating.

Arsene Wenger was asked on Saturday if it would be perfect to take on United in the final. "You call that an ideal world?" the Arsenal manager said in mock disbelief.

Deep down, like everyone else, he will be gripped by a game that contains festering grievances, animosities and, unlike the semi-finals, a pair of well-equipped teams.